Education Commons^™

Using An Engineering Design Process To Bring The Local Community Into The Technology And Engineering Education Classroom, James M. Baker

All Graduate Plan B and other Reports, Spring 1920 to Spring 2023

This plan B project documents the practice of using an authentic project to teach an engineering design process to high school pre-engineering students and documenting the project preparing a manuscript for journal publication.

The manuscript prepared for publication explores the details of working with local business owners and teachers from different departments and curricular foci to design, fabricate, and install an illuminated sign for a local business. This sign project was presented by an alum of the school to provide an authentic project for multiple courses to collaboratively create a solution for a local community business. Twenty-five students in two …

Relationships Between Teachers' Past Experiences Learning Mathematics And Their Pedagogical Practices And Beliefs, Caci M. Jensen

All Graduate Plan B and other Reports, Spring 1920 to Spring 2023

This creative project centered around the cyclical pattern of mathematics anxiety currently prevalent in our schools. A high percentage of elementary teachers carry mathematics anxiety and beliefs around mathematics that effect their pedagogical practices day-to-day. This anxiety transfers to their students effecting their future choices in mathematics. This project was conducted in case studies with six teachers from a rural charter school. Journey maps, semi-structured interviews, surveys, and observations were used to collect the data.

A Qualitative Study On Perceptions Of Parents And Their Young Adults With Disabilities Regarding Postsecondary Education, Kelli Summers

All Graduate Plan B and other Reports, Spring 1920 to Spring 2023

Postsecondary education (PSE) participation is a predictor for positive employment outcomes for students with or without disabilities (Newman et al., 2011; Test et al., 2009). In recent years, there has been an increase of students with disabilities participating in PSE. Students with intellectual disabilities (ID) have had the lowest enrollment rate of all the disability categories in PSE programs (Newman et al. (2010). This project examined the perceptions of parents and their young adults with ID regarding PSE. Participants included parents of young adults with ID and their young adults who were attending a PSE program on a college campus …

Supporting English Language Learners Through Collaboration, Compassion, And Engagement, Lora Ann Stead

All Graduate Plan B and other Reports, Spring 1920 to Spring 2023

This portfolio illustrates the student’s academic work completed while in the Master of Second Language Teaching program at Utah State University. The project is centered around the student’s philosophy on teaching English language learners (ELLs) as drawn from personal experience and second language acquisition research. The author seeks to provide awareness into best practices for teaching ELLs.

The portfolio is divided into three sections: 1) teaching perspectives, 2) research perspectives, and 3) annotated bibliographies. Within these sections, the author explores themes related to ELL teaching that highlight the importance of collaboration, compassion, and engagement. These topics include politely closing a …

Teaching A Second Language: Communication, Culture, And Collaboration, Diannylín Núñez De Paulino

All Graduate Plan B and other Reports, Spring 1920 to Spring 2023

This portfolio presents the author’s perspectives on the effective use of language teaching techniques, practices, and tools. The first section demonstrates the author’s teaching philosophy, which includes her perceptions as a foreign language instructor and learner, teaching observations of various foreign language instructors, and self-reflections about teaching. The following section contains three research papers, which explore foreign language anxiety, effectiveness of co-teaching a foreign language class, and refusals across different cultures. The last section consists of three annotated bibliographies in which the author analyzes journal articles and book chapters about communicative language teaching, the role of culture in the Spanish …

Breaking Traditions: Teaching Efl In The Dominican Republic, Farlin Paulino

All Graduate Plan B and other Reports, Spring 1920 to Spring 2023

This portfolio is a compilation of the author’s beliefs in regard to effectively teaching English as a Foreign Language and Spanish as a Second language. This work was completed for the Master of Second Language Teaching (MSLT) program at Utah State University. All the work compiled in this portfolio centers on the teaching philosophy statement, which contains what the author believes to be the most important aspects of teaching a second language. In the first section of the portfolio, the author presents the experiences that made him pursue the profession of teaching languages, his personal philosophy of teaching shaped by …

Parent Priorities And Knowledge Regarding Transition To Adulthood For Middle School Students With Significant Disabilities, Laura A. Hackwell

All Graduate Plan B and other Reports, Spring 1920 to Spring 2023

The Individuals with Disabilities Education Act of 2004 requires transition planning to begin at age 16 years, but many states require transition planning to begin even earlier. In Utah, the amended age for starting transition planning is 14 years. Early implementation of transition planning requires collaboration between middle school teachers, parents, and adult service agencies. Parents of middle school students with significant disabilities completed an online survey to identify postsecondary transition related priorities and knowledge. Participants identified top priorities within seven transition outcomes, as well as the information needed to understand and support their student within each specific transition area. …

Becoming A Teacher: Integrating Strategies, Activities, And Objectives, Juana Andrade Batalla

All Graduate Plan B and other Reports, Spring 1920 to Spring 2023

This portfolio reflects the perspectives that the author believes are effective in second language teaching. The first section comprises the author’s teaching philosophy which includes creating a favorable classroom environment, facilitating learning through a communicative approach, and applying activities with appropriate and specific objectives. Following the teaching philosophy are three research papers: the use of fairy tales to promote a communicative approach together with other academic skills in second language teaching, the importance of teaching pragmatics, and the significance of helping Hispanic students develop confidence through Dual Language Immersion. The last section of this portfolio contains three annotated bibliographies about …

Effects Of Isokinetic Eccentric Versus Traditional Lower Body Multiple-Joint Resistance Training On Muscle Function In Recreationally Trained College-Aged Adults, Joshua P. Gordon

All Graduate Plan B and other Reports, Spring 1920 to Spring 2023

Purpose: Early adaptations of eccentric training show several advantages over concentric training. The purpose of this study was to quantify the effects of 4 weeks of multi-joint eccentric training versus traditional leg press training on muscle strength, rate of torque development (RTD; rapid strength) and jump and sprint performance adaptations.

Methods: Twenty-six resistance trained college-aged men and women performed either an eccentric or a traditional (control) resistance training program twice per week for 4 weeks. Single-joint isometric maximum and rapid strength (Biodex dynamometer; peak torque and RTD, respectively) and isokinetic strength of the knee extensors and flexors, maximum multi-joint eccentric …

Comparison Of Vestibular Contribution During Stair Ascent, Stair Descent, And Treadmill Locomotion, Alexander Kern

All Graduate Plan B and other Reports, Spring 1920 to Spring 2023

Stair negotiation accounts for 16% of fall related traumatic spinal cord injuries and the vestibular system plays a crucial role in fall avoidance through its role in maintaining balance during human locomotion, but its role in stair negotiation is unclear. The aim of this study was to compare the vestibular contribution to a) stair negotiation versus locomotion and b) stair ascent to stair descent in healthy young participants. It was hypothesized that, with cadence held constant, vestibular influence would increase during stair negotiation when compared to locomotion. We also expected the vestibular influence to increase during stair descent vs. ascent. …

A Review Of Impact Testing Used For The Diagnosis Of Concussion And The Influence Of Language Of Test Administration, Carley Bishop

All Graduate Plan B and other Reports, Spring 1920 to Spring 2023

The Immediate Post-Concussion Assessment and Cognitive Test (ImPACT) battery is a widely used tool for the diagnosis and treatment of concussions. The purpose of this review was to evaluate studies that account for patient language and language of test administration when conducting ImPACT. A total of 36 articles were reviewed. The 36 articles reviewed accounted for English speaking populations and five of the articles accounted for populations representing different languages. Five of the studies were test-retest reliability studies. The results indicated that ImPACT has acceptable test-retest reliability when used in English to monolingual English-speaking participants. However, the results demonstrated ImPACT …

The Successful Foreign Language Classroom: Affect, Empathy, And Engagement, Emily Mower

All Graduate Plan B and other Reports, Spring 1920 to Spring 2023

This portfolio is the culmination of the author’s work in the Master of Second Language Teaching program at Utah State University. Throughout this collection the author shares her personal views and experiences from teaching secondary and postsecondary beginning Spanish courses, supporting her claims with existing research. The portfolio consists of three sections: (1) teaching perspectives, (2) research perspectives, and (3) annotated bibliographies.

The objective of this work is to identify hindrances to the progress of foreign language teachers and learners, and best practices to stimulate their success. On the basis that language learning can promote cross-cultural understanding, these findings are …

Stories Behind The Berlin Wall: Lesson Modules, Nicholas Redmon

All Graduate Plan B and other Reports, Spring 1920 to Spring 2023

I have grappled with my primary collection just as scholars and popular authors have with bringing these stories together with political histories. My goal is to create a digital map and analysis on specific themes like education and guard duty from the lives lived behind the Wall and their discourse with the government. I would like to explore how the divide impacted lives in 1961, created a GDR Society, and produced a division still felt in Germany today. The target audience of this project is U.S. students in high school and higher education. Students will be able to access timely …

The Relationship Between Narrative Proficiency And Syntactic Complexity Of Spontaneously Generated Stories Elicited From Children With Autism Spectrum Disorder (Asd), Megan Israelsen

All Graduate Plan B and other Reports, Spring 1920 to Spring 2023

Purpose: The purpose of this study was to determine whether a narrative program designed to increase narrative language proficiency was associated with improved syntactic complexity for 5, school-aged children with Autism Spectrum Disorder (ASD).

Method: A multiple-baseline across participants design was employed. Children participated in a narrative intervention for 45 minutes, twice weekly for a period of time ranging from 19 to 33 sessions. Spontaneously generated narratives were collected after every other intervention session and analyzed for narrative and syntactic complexity.

Results: Results indicated that during baseline, three of the student’s spontaneous stories contained syntactically complex utterances that were comparable …

Contexts And Perspectives For Foreign Language Learning And Teaching, Kimberly Paige Fallis

All Graduate Plan B and other Reports, Spring 1920 to Spring 2023

This portfolio highlights what the author believes are important facets and implementations of second language teaching and second language learning. This portfolio is grounded in two elements: second language acquisition theory and the author’s first-hand observations as a student in the Master of Second Language Teaching (MSLT) program. The target languages focused in this portfolio are English and French.

This portfolio is divided into three main sections. The first section contains the author’s teaching philosophy statement with focuses on student and teacher roles, tasks in the classroom, and the author’s experiences teaching English. After the teaching philosophy statement, there are …

Development Of A 4th-8th Grade Curriculum For Flying And Programming Mini Drones, Jordan Lynn Bartholomew, Russell Scott Mayo

All Graduate Plan B and other Reports, Spring 1920 to Spring 2023

This project was a joint effort by Jordan Bartholomew and Russell Mayo. The project consisted of three parts. Part one was the development of the lesson content led by Jordan Bartholomew. Part two was the production of a multimedia package that included lesson videos, animations and logos for the ROAV copter mini curriculum, led by Russell Mayo. Part three included a journal article to introduce the curriculum co-written by both Jordan and Russ. The curriculum was developed for hands-on experiential learning and includes a computational thinking component. The lesson videos were intended for self-instruction or in a classroom setting. The …

Values, Mushfaking, And Literacy In Disability: Applying James Paul Gee’S Discourse Theory To The Deaf And Mental Health Communities, Adrienne Griffiths

All Graduate Plan B and other Reports, Spring 1920 to Spring 2023

The disability community has been a historically marginalized group and continues to be. Many advocates for inclusive language feel uncomfortable around the disability community because they are uncertain how to act and speak. There are two forms of language syntaxes that people primarily use to refer to someone with a disability: People-first language and Identity-first language. People-first language identifies someone first, then refers to their disability, such as “person with autism.” The second framework, Identity-first language, includes referring to someone’s disability first, then by another attribute. In other words, “autistic person.”

Both forms of language syntaxes have many reasons as …